On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
If a country does not understand its own affairs, how is a foreigner to understand them, who knows neither its laws, its manners, nor its language?
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “If a country does not understand its own affairs, how is a foreigner to understand them, who knows neither its laws, its…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine argues against foreign intervention or rule, emphasizing that outsiders lack the fundamental understanding required to govern another nation effectively.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
Jan 1, 1791
Discussion and the general will arbitrates the question, and to this, private opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preserved uninterrupted.
Jan 1, 1791
If, therefore, the good to be obtained be worthy of a passive, rational, and costless revolution, it would be bad policy to prefer waiting for a calamity that should force a violent one.
Jan 1, 1791
But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the reality of it is thereby destroyed, I will conclude this work with stating in what light religion appears to me.
Jan 1, 1791
As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.